Friday, February 17, 2012

The Rise of NASCAR

With the
Daytona 500 days away, it is an appropriate time to analyze the meteoric growth
of NASCAR over the last three decades.
As late as the mid-1980s, open wheel racing (Indy cars) reigned supreme
over stock cars (NASCAR) and the Indianapolis 500—not Daytona— was the most
popular race in the country. Mario Andretti
and A.J. Foyt, not Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr., were the most famous
drivers in the nation. In the last 30
years, though, stock car racing has surpassed open wheel racing, evolving from a
regional sport based in the rural South to a national phenomenon with fanatical
supporters across America.

According
to legend, NASCAR’s rise began with the exciting conclusion to the 1979 Daytona
500, which was the first to air live on network television. A major snowstorm on the East Coast left many
trapped inside and some viewers who would not normally have watched tuned in. Following the conclusion of the race, won by Petty, drivers Cale Yarborough and Bobby and Donnie Alison got into a
fistfight over a last lap crash, bringing new attention to this sport. Just as 1958’s “Greatest Game Ever Played” between
the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants spurred football to new heights,
the ’79 Daytona launched NASCAR. See http://popculturemeetshistory.blogspot.com/2011/09/how-football-came-to-dominate-america.html

Over the
next two decades, led by charismatic drivers such as Earnhardt, Darrell
Waltrip, and Jeff Gordon, NASCAR became one of the most popular sports in the
country, with ratings only surpassed by the NFL. Like football, auto racing’s ratings were augmented
by its once-a-week format, but that does not detract from the sport’s
incredible rise. Meanwhile, internecine
disputes in Indy car racing split the sport into rival camps and many top drivers
did not race in the Indianapolis 500 for several years. This divorce left the auto racing market to
NASCAR alone.

NASCAR’s
growth also reflected the rise of the South during the time. As the region’s population expanded, so did
its influence on American culture. Other
traditionally southern phenomenon, like country music, developed crossover
appeal. Since the Reagan era, the
political conservatism and religiosity of the region has often seemed more reflective
of the country than the liberalism and relative secularism of New England. By the 1990s, some discussed the “Southernization
of America,” as Arkansas’ Bill Clinton, Georgia’s Newt Gingrich, and Mississippi’s
Trent Lott, served as President, Speaker of the House, and Senate Majority
Leader, respectively (Applebome, Dixie
Rising).

Dale
Earnhardt, Sr.’s death in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500 precipitated Princess
Di-style mourning below the Mason-Dixon line.
At the same time, some in the North scratched their heads over the
emotional reaction. I’ll never forget
where I was when I found out that “The Intimidator” had died: the Upper West
Side of Manhattan. The local news
declared “tragedy strikes as a legend dies at Daytona.” Though I can count on my hands the number of
NASCAR races I’ve watched, as a sports fan I immediately blurted out, “Oh my
G-D, did Dale Earnhardt die?” My
Manhattan friends seemed totally nonplussed and refused to even let me watch
the sports segment to find out what had happened. It was a reflection of the cultural chasm that
still exists, as NASCAR is very popular across a broad swath of the nation,
except for a few bastions of blue America. As a perceptive friend of mine said later, the
circumstances surrounding Earnhardt’s death were unbelievable, the equivalent
of Michael Jordan dying during Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Paradoxically,
the period following Earnhardt’s crash may have been the sport’s peak. In 2004, “NASCAR dads” replaced “soccer moms”
as the swing voters fawned over by presidential candidates and the national
media alike. President George W. Bush
campaigned for re-election at the 2004 Daytona 500, opening the race by
declaring, “Gentlemen, start your engines!”

While
“The Intimdator’s” death brought new attention to the sport, it also sparked a
greater awareness of its dangers. NASCAR
instituted new safety guidelines that have helped prevent any deaths since
2001, though some have suggested these measures have reduced the excitement of
the races. Over the last decade, the
sport’s popularity has declined as attendance at the races has slipped and
television ratings have come back to earth a bit.

It is not
just the new safety measures, however, that have caused the sport to plateau. NASCAR began as a working-class sport in the
rural South, but the sports’ leadership pushed to attract a more upscale
demographic. Nothing reflected this
change more than when sponsorship of the NASCAR points series switched from the
“Winston Cup” to the “Nextel Cup” in 2004.
Races at some of the older tracks have been abandoned in favor of larger
venues, alienating some of the sports’ traditional fans,
often called “gearheads.” Since
Earnhardt, Sr.’s death, no driver has emerged to replace him as someone that
fans either love or hate. Jimmie Johnson
has dominated the sport in (old) Tigeresque fashion in recent years, winning
five consecutive championships between 2006-2010. But he doesn’t seem to elicit strong emotions
either way from the “gearheads.”

As the
2012 race commences on February 26, it could mark the beginning of a resurgence
in NASCAR’s popularity. Despite only one
victory in seven years of Indy car racing, Danica Patrick is moving to stock
cars and will be in the field for the first time. Her celebrity will certainly bring renewed
interest in the “Great American Race,” but whatever happens, NASCAR has come a long way since its early days of
moonshine and dirt tracks.

5 comments:

Ever since 2003, NASCAR is bo-ring! How can they let a race end under a yellow flag? It's like a baseball game where innings 2, 3, 7 and 9 don't count, but the players are nevertheless made to run around the bases like zombies.

After a little research, it turns out you are at least partially correct. It was harder to advertise NASCAR with Winston, but I also think NASCAR had gotten so popular that different advertisers were now interested who would not have been so inclined in the 1970s